Means for preventing shoes from treading over.



L. B. wEsToN. MEANS FOR PHEVENTING SHOES FROM THEADING OVER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24.1917.

Patented Jan. 22, 191.8.

L? yS B. WESTON, F BROCXTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MEANS FOR PBEVENTING SHOES FROM TREADING OVER..

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented James, 1918.

Application led April 24, 1917. Serial No, 184,250.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LoUis B. WESTON, a

,. citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Means for: Preventingr Shoes from Treading Over,

. of Which-the following is a specification.

The. object of my' invention is to provide a shoe which will resist the tendency of the ball of the foot to slide outward within the shoe and rollthe upper over the outer Vdge of the sole while the wearer is walking. This result, which is commonly known as treading over, is of practically universal occur rence and has the ultimate effect of perma nently distorting the shoe and thereby detractiii fromits appearance, being particulai-.ly o jcctionable for that reason in the case of `high gradeishoes.. I accomplish the object above referred to by constructing the :shoein such manner that when the wearer stands on a level surface the ballvof the foot `,wh'erebythe natural tendency of Vthe ball of the lfoot to slide outward is resisted by a counteractimgrv tendency of the foot as a whole to skew .or turn in such direction as tolmove the ball of the foot inward with re spectvv to the slice.

Inl practice, the structural features which characterize my invention are preferably em- I 'bodied in the inner sole of the shoe, thus p'ioduciiigani article of manufacture which lcan be lj sold to fshoe makers and used. by :them in the manufacture of shoes according "to the usual processes.

Suchl an embodiinent'of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying` drawing, in which:

Figs. and are transverse sections on v the lines :vand yf-y respectively, Fi l;

' Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified orm of the inner sole in processof preparation; Fig, 5 is a transverse section showing this l, ljfrm furthe inner Soie after it has been @0m- 1 *plgetedlthe line of section being indicated at Y in Fig. 41; and

v lFig. 6v is a-transverse section lthrough-the Qbfall portion ofa welt shoeI containing the Figure l is a plan view of one form of the. linnersole with its top layer omitted;

inner` sole represented in Figs. 4 and 5, and showing also the last on which the shoe was ma e.

The inner sole illustrated in Figs. 1,2 and 3 of the drawing comprises top and bottom layers 2 and 3 which may be made of thin leathertcanvas or other suitable materialv suoli as 1s commonly employed in inner soles, and each of which is coextensive in area with the complete inner sole. Between the layers 2 and 3 are placed wedge-shaped inserts 4 and 5 which are preferably made of firm scrap leather and are located respectively at the heel portion and ball portion of the inner sole. The insert 4 has its maximum-thickneers` at its inner margin, which coincides in position and outline with the inner edge of the heel portion of the. inner sole, and: from this margin it tapers outwardly to a thin edge. The insert 5 is thickest at its outer margin, which coincides in position and outline with the outer edge ofthe inner sole at the ball of the foot, and i from this margin it tapers inwardly to a thin edge. In order to give Aits outer margin the slope which is desirable, the insert 5 may be built up at this point by super-imposing upon it .a narrow strip 6 which is wedge shaped in cross-section and is. tacked or otherwise secured to the insert 5, asshown in Fig. l.

In addition to the inserts 4 and 5,- an insert 7 may be placed between the layers 2 and 3 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.' This insert when employed extends lon itudinally Jwithin the inner sole, prefera ly from about the front end-of the insert 4 tothe frontend of the insert 5. It is thickest along i tudinal central portion and tapei-'svylal in each direction to a thin edge,vits`-oi1te'r portion being overli'ipped in art lthe inner portion of the insert 5. X11 the parts abovedescribed are-permanentlysecurcd ton. gether` by cement or other suitable means, as

in the ordinary inner sole composedo mul'- tiple layers. t U

l t will be apparent that when theA inner sole as thus constructed is embodied in :1

shoe the .top-surface of the inner sole will slope slightly vdownward from the outer sido to the iunerside'fothe shoe at the ball portion thereof, vfandirom" ther-'inner side to the outer. side of -tlie"shoe.l lat the heel portion-` thereof, whereby thev `foot of the'wearer will be' given a tendency tolske'win such 'direc- 'tion as to counteracttheftendency of the ball `formed in'the extensions of the foot to slide outward and tread over the shoe. The insert 7 .is not essential, but I prefer to employ it because it gives the top surface of the inner sole a configuration closely conforming to the anatomy of the solefof the human foot, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby renderingthe slope of said surface less noticeable to the wearer-of the shoe and making the shoe more comfortable. It also increases the resistance of the ball portion of the foot to the tendency to slide outward, since its thicker. central portion has the effeet of forming depressions in which the downwardl bulging toe joints rest. l

As an a ditional means for resisting the tendency to tread over, the inner sole may be provided at the outer edgeof the ball portion thereof with an extensionwhich forms an upturned lip in the completed shoe and tends to hold the toot in place by imparting increased stiil'ness to the upper at this point. Such a modification is shown in Figs. 4, '5 and 6, in whiclrthe lip just referred to 1s formed from extensions B and 9 which are integral'with the upper and lower layers 2 and 3' respectively, the inserts 4, 5 and 7 being constructed and arranged as already described. After these parts have been assembled .and-secured together, as shown in Fig. 4, the extensions 8 and 9 are bent into a substantially upright position and are then connected by suitable means, such as a line of stitchin l0 located just above the outer margin o the insert 5. The result of stitching together these extensions as just described is not only to unite them to form al lip but also to maintain them in their upright position, a the upper 11l passes around the outside of the 1i is sti ened thereby along the length of the lip. The purpose of the notches 12 and 13 8 and 9'respectively, as shown in Fig. 4, is to facilitate the turning up of these extensions along the.

curved line which bunds the outer margin of the insert 5 and toipreventthem from wrinkling when the inner sole 1s exed by -the act of walking, each notch being arranged-to overlie incontinuous portion of the other extension in,order that no gap may exist in the completed lip.

In manufacturing a shoe containing either form of inner sole above described, the last employed should have its bottom surface sha ed in accordance with the top surface of t `e inner sole, particularly at the ball and the heel, and that portion of the last which comes'in-contact with the strip 6 should be cut away 'sli htlyi and, rounded 0.1i",V theV sharply-define edge required for lasting the l i upper at this fp oint being suiciently `pro- 1vided by the, marginof the insert 5 supprti,

6; .A last having the contour ed by the` strip is shown at 1,4 in-'ligl 6.

just describe and when the shoe is lasted thus formed, as shown in Fig. 6, and f In Figs. 5 and 6, which illustrate my invention as appliedv to a welt shoe, 15 indicates the lip o1' feather which is provided on the bottom of the inner sole and to which the welt is stitched. It will be understood, however', that the invention is equally applicable vto shoes in which the inner sole has no such lip or feather, the inner sole shown in Fig. 3 being of lthis type.

I claim:

l. A'shoe in which the foot-supporting surface slopslaterally down-Ward from the outerside toward the inner side of the shoe at its ball portion'andfrom the inner side to the outer .side of the shoe at its heel portion.

2. A shoe comprising an inner sole having its outer edge thicker than its inner edge an upwardly-turned reinforcing lip carried' by the inner sole and extending longitudinally along the outer edge of the ball portion thereof, beneath the upper of the shoe.

v3. An inner sole having its outer edge thicker than its inner edge at its ball portion and its inner edge thicker than its outer edge at its heel portion, whereby its footsupporting surface is caused to slope transversely in. opposite directions beneath the ball and heel 'of the foot.

4. An inner sole comprising upper and lower layers of thin material with inserts located'between them at the outer side of their ball portions and the in'ne'r sideof their heel portlons, said inserts being wedge-shaped in transverse section and Ahaving their thicker. lmargins extending along the corresponding edges of the inner sole.

5. An innerV sole comprising upper and lower layers of thin material .with inserts located between them at Vthe outer side of their ball portions and the inner side of their' heelv portions, said inserts being wedge shaped in transverse section and having their thicker margins extending4 along the corresponding edges ofA the inner sole, and a longitudinally- -extending supplemental inserthaving a relaand its inner edge thicker than its outer edge at its heel portion, and also liavingat the outer edge of its ball portion an exten- 'sion adapted to form an upwardly-turned reinforcing lip. n

7.- An inner sole comprising upper and lower layers. of thin material provided along the ball portions thereof with extensions adapted rto form an upwardly-turned reinforcing lip, and inserts located between said layers atthe outer side of'their ball portions and the inner side of their heelportions-,HO

said inserts lining wedgwshapnd in trimsu rwrsc svciinn und hnvintg their thicker rnnrgrins vx'LvnLhng nhnig the cnrrcsponchng edges mi' iin' nnn'i sole.

5 8. An innvr suiv n-nnprhzlng upper und nhnigl Hw haii portion thcrmi' with :i nutched exinnsinn, and inserts lon-nun] lntn'vcn Suid -nppor :1nd lmvr hlycr at thv outer sido. of 10 their huil pnriinns und the inner side of 

